Fighting for a
freeport
Guardians of the Tees
- PD Ports has played
a key role in atttracting
more than £1bn fo
investment to the Tees
region over the last
decade.
Teesport owners launch
River Tees masterplan
As a major UK port operator, PD Ports plays a
critical role in managing the 483 million tonnes of
cargo passing through UK waters each year, and
is an important contributor to the £829bn-plus
value delivered to the UK economy as a result.
Across its operations, the firm continues to
invest heavily in the growth and development
of the company’s UK-wide ports and logistics platforms,
strengthening local and national economies, whilst
supporting many thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
Alongside businesses and stakeholders, the Port of
Tees and Hartlepool (Teesport) has attracted more than
£1bn of direct and indirect investment to the Tees Valley
in the last decade, creating more than 2,500 new jobs
along the way. The development of new partnerships
has resulted in winning major national projects including
the MGT biomass power station and national distribution
centres for global retailers Asda and Tesco.
During that time, the Middlesbrough-based port has
transformed from a small North-East operation to one of
the UK’s major container hubs.
This has been achieved despite enduring some of its
darkest days including the global financial crisis in 2008
and the loss of SSI in 2015, notwithstanding the current
challenges presented by Covid-19.
But, as the firm’s chief operating officer and vicechairman
Jerry Hopkinson explains, PD Ports is a business
with a long-term vision.
“Through the realisation of the Teesport masterplan,
we aim to deliver material economic change and social
betterment for not only the people of the Tees Valley but
right across the Northern Powerhouse, aligned with the
government’s plans to rebalance the national economic
picture,” he says.
The port is the main artery that generates and
supports investment, economic growth, job creation and
prosperity for the Tees Valley. The contribution of the
port and the industries that depend on it is in excess of
£1bn GVA every year, accounting for around eight per
cent of the region’s economy.
Middlesbrough was founded on river-related activity
and that proud heritage remains as strong today with
Teesport handling more than 28 million tonnes of cargo
each year. The port and the industries that depend on
it directly support over 5,500 jobs, with many more
supported through supply chains.
32 | Tees Business